February 24, Sunday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

  1. North Korea’s state-run media are reporting that the country’s leader Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang by train on Saturday for a summit with the U.S. president in Hanoi.
  2. Voters in Okinawa are casting ballots in a referendum on the ongoing land reclamation work to relocate a U.S. military base within the southwestern Japanese prefecture.
  3. Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito will likely open both the Olympic and Paralympic summer games in Tokyo in 2020 as the new Emperor.

February 23, Saturday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Risa Shimizu

  1. U.S. and North Korean officials are holding a third day of talks in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi as they prepare for a summit there between their countries’ leaders next week.
  2. Trade talks between top officials from the United States and China will be extended by two days as both sides try to strike a deal by the March 1st deadline.
  3. Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito marked his 59th birthday on Saturday. He will ascend to the throne on March 1st, one day after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates.

 

February 22, Friday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Emma Howard and Ms. Sara Mcdonald

  1. Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency says its Hayabusa 2 space probe has successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu in its first attempt to collect rock samples there.
  2. Authorities are assessing the damage from a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido on Thursday night.
  3. The U.S. government says it is ready to extend economic assistance to North Korea if the country commits to complete denuclearization.

February 20, Wednesday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Mariko Kojima

  1. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has proposed that the United States should use inter-Korean economic projects as a “concession” to urge North Korea to denuclearize.
  2. Tens of thousands of people rallied across France on Tuesday to protest an increase in anti-Semitic acts.
  3. Honda Motor says it will cut its annual global automobile output to 5.1 million units from the current 5.4 million.

February 19, Tuesday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

  1. A senior aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues making preparations in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for next week’s summit.
  2. China’s government has unveiled a development plan aimed at further integrating Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau.
  3. Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido is calling for a million volunteers to help bring in much-needed humanitarian aid.

February 18, Monday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Mariko Kojima and Mr. Raja Pradhan

  1. U.S. and North Korean officials in Vietnam are preparing for a second summit between the leaders of the two countries scheduled for late this month in the Southeastern country.
  2. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declined to comment on Donald Trump’s remark that he nominated the U.S. president for the Nobel Peace Prize.
  3. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has begun a tour of three Asian countries.